Thursday, 6 October 2011

My views on Sweden

I wrote in an earlier post that I dislike Sweden, which is the country that I live in. I think I ought to explain myself since it's a harsh thing to say.

The main reason for my dislike towards this northern outstretched country is the people. Just like everywhere there's great people, but so many of us are ridiculous in ways that I don't even begin to comprehend.We go around and complain about the unfortunate weather, our stupid TV shows, the rest of all the ridiculous people here, our horrible taste in music, immigrants, etc. We even complain about how we always complain! And as you can see, I'm not any better. I try to, but fail pretty much all of the time. Relapses in whining is a common thing amongst those who try to stop nagging about everything. Like trying to quit smoking, if you will. It's just too irresistible to say something bad when there's nothing else to talk about, and we're not very fond of awkward silence up here.

Pic unrelated, still awesome (anime humour)

As I previously mentioned, many Swedes complain about immigrants. The increasing nationalism is a big problem. Not only because the immigrants themselves are discriminated and bullied. Because those of us who don't support racism in Sweden are also threatened by the haters. It's gone so far that some schools refuse to sing the national anthem, and so far that a great many people don't want to be associated with our very flag (since the nationalists often use it in their propaganda).

One thing that many here complain about is how immigrants suck at pronouncing Swedish and using proper grammar. This is a most disturbing thing, in my opinion. I mean, how is ANYONE supposed to be able to pronounce a language that is so absurdly complex in sound! The many dialects aren't always beneficial to the people who come to Sweden either! And the grammar... pfft! I'd like to meet a SWEDISH person who can use correct grammar at all times without checking a dictionary. Even with all of the studies in Swedish grammar that we have to go through.

This is also one of the few things that I am proud of as a Swede. Being able to speak the language. It's one of the hardest languages on earth that you can learn! Our grammatical rules are since long forgotten and an explanation for most of it cannot be found. But despite this difficulty, we don't go around and say "Wow, that guy has really improved his Swedish" or "Awesome! Even while it's so tough, she keeps trying!". No, instead we go all "What language was that?". I have to agree that misunderstandings are very common between natives and foreigners, but instead of being mean I think we should be more encouraging. How fair is it of us to look down on those who make errors in our language when we ourselves, as we travel abroad for example, speak a Swenglish that is really pathetic in comparison?